Apparatus for vulcanizing tire-shoes.



H.z.co. APPARATUS FOR VULCANIZING TIRE SHOES. I

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6. I9I5.

Patented Janfso; 1917.

-2 SHEETS-.SHEET I.

` j l l INVENTOR- A By Attorneys, l fwwff l H. Z. COBB. APPARATUS FORVULCANIZING T| RE SHOES.

APPLICATION H LED MAn.e.1s15. 1921492772 Patented Jan. 30,1917.

\ v 2 sHEETs-sHET 2'.

@y 20. u l @mi INVENTOR f WITNESSES;

HENRY Z. CGBB, OF VI GHESTER, lJfSSACI-SETTS, EUEB'ER CQVIPANY, Ul?:NEVI BRUNSWCK, NEW." i

EELSEY.

FOB, VLCELETBIZENG figggiggj, Specicaten of Letters To ai? @017mm t mayGemein@ Be ii known that L HENRY Zi Cote-B, u, citizen of @ne 'UniedlSietes of Amefiea. Tesidlig at @Winches-tem iii bhe ceunty o- Miei- 5diesex m State of iieseaehusets, have invened eeiftaiu new anduseuiuipevements in Appmuus for 'Vuicanizing Tire- Shoes7 ef which 'hefeilewiug ie u specii.-

cation.

n the making 0i' shoes of: Cusings fel ,pneumatie vehicle iies,pmwicuiariy these for automobiles, it is desirable to heid the tire shoeexpanded vii-Jain iie vuiifamizing mold by suijeeing it to en interna-iiuid pressure. This has been piepese i0 be dene by Connecting interioref thesiioe in each .leid Wi'ii seufce of fiuid upi'essuie7 such as.Steam. beiief ei' a compressed air i'- uiz? b v means of suitable pipesund ceun piings, se that the iiuid pressui-e een be iutreducefi into n-ecavity er hollow ef J i -the meid is eiosei upeii euch tire shoe ai! it,and u sexies ei such we elampe. egeihei' in ue v 5minV fiminine?. A muchmore eonveuieia' sind. a mbie metile@ is that se@ foi 'ii my 8%836@ eciJui 19M. pioviiied fc' as @euse en y I cWiiZei-.iei cu pieeese hue #leadi/'aum hein ne e015 iugs are i'equiied ieziding inte die vuicauizingein.` iisei isom eutside seuiee ef pi u seperate connection te 01'mandeis; Quai. any uCeicien-ai l ege 'fiom any one meid @im afi-eciouij/ Shoe in thai; meid ami Wiii biug about defects in the other shoesundergoing vuicanizution athe same zime; and. also that When tire shoesof fiiieeiit sizes or eine@ messes7 or diffeen compositions, are bein@vulcanized in the same operation. hey may be chaige. with inici undefdi'eienpreseures.

My presepiJ proved apparatus canizing o' tire method se?J ierth 55 Themeans described in invention provides an imor peiforming the viii; eusesaccording zo the my said, epplicaiion. that eppiiceion 'Eef e Shoe{iuriei has eue ish 'the 6G iiqui Vaporizresume Within 95 gewitfieemsuitabie pfer- 2 iign Some means A seni-e i0 diseiid the meid -heearly peut 10e epeietieii. This means D pi-eei'u giuda., se ha; it opensawtomfifi 'ieuing up ef the meid iii me the vuieaiiizing piocess M5 Theaccompanying if Wings show seveai ,diieieiie ways of applying my presentinvention.

Figure is si e elevation. paiizijl in Sec- *ei-en, efe, iuemii'ei CoreS'iewi -g a iegil@ ment of the shoe thereon. Fig. 2 is a side on theline 3 3 in Fig. Q. Fig. 4: is a crosssection on astill larger scale, onthe line 4 4 in Figs. l and 2. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section of partof the mandrel showing a different construction, the vessel being partlyremoved therefrom and partly in section. Fig. 6 is an edge view of thecomplete mandrel of Fig. 5, the vessel within it being indicated indotted lines. Fig. 7 is a crosssection on a larger' scale of the mandreland vessel of the construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6, with the shoe onthe mandrel and both inclosed vin the mold forvulcanizing. Fig. 8 is anelevation of a tire shoe and supporting ring showing still anotherconstruction. The parts are shown ready to be placed within avulcanizing mold. Fig. 9 is a cross-section on a larger scale intheplane of the line 9-9 in Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a similar cross-sectionshowing the partsin- Aclosed'in the mold. Fig. ll shows one-half of themold removed and the shoe partly opened.

In the several' figures, A designates the tire, or more correctly, thetire shoe, which is shown asr of the usual clencher type having a fabricportion a, rubber lining and anouter cushion c of rubber or rubbercomposition.

B is, as va whole, the mandrel on which the tire shoe is or may be builtup, and which may be used for supporting the shoe during vulcanizing.

C is a vessel independent of the mandrel and mold, and adapted to beplaced within the hollow of the `tire shoe during vul-A the segments areattached in any suitable or known manner (not shown). There the segmentsabut they are held in` alinement by suitable dove-tails or key pieces g,or in any other suitable manner. One of the segments rl' has a deepgroove or channel in its peripheral portion, into which lits the vesselC. The vessel and mandrel segment should be so conformed to each otheras to afford, when the vessel is'in place, a continuous or uninterruptedouter surface, this being desirable in order that the mandrel may beused as the support upon which to build up the shoe. This isconveniently accomplished by giving the vessel the cross-'section shownin Fig. 3, and by forming the man-l drel' with itsv channel lz, ofcorrespondingv section, .so as to freely receive the vessel.

-The vessel has any suitable means whereby it may be charged withpressure or with a y source of pressure, and whereby the pressure may beliberated within the tire shoe during vulcanizing. As stated in my saidprevious application, such provisions may include a.'

filling or charging valve and a. fusible plug adapted to melt out underthe vulcanizing temperature; or instead, a thermostatically operatedvalve may be provided which will open at the vulcanizing temperature ora temperature approachlng 1t. 'The latter construction is shown inFig-el, wherein a plug z' is screwed into the vesseland carries a checkvalve j which is opened bythe exthe shoe outwardly into close Contactlwith its mold.'

In the use of this construction the mandrel is assembled; the vessel Ciis charged with pressure and is seated in the channel It; and the shoeis built up in the usiial 'manner upon the mandrel. The mold sections DD are then applied and this mold, with other molds, are placed in thevulcanizer, the mold sections being clamped together in any suitablemanner,`as by the usual hydraulic ram. The .lining rubber b is prolongedinwardly, so that it covers the joints between the core segments andvthe inner ring f and serves as a packing between a fiat neck portion ofthe mandrel and the fiat embracing portions of the mold sections, asclearly shown in Figs. 7

and 10. The vulcanizer is then heated by steam, or otherwise, and beforethe temperature rises high enough to cause any material vulcanization,the thermostatic valve lc -l The charge offluid under pressure is suchthat the pressure under the vulcanizing heat is suiicient to stretch thefabric layers,

whereby to avoid any wrinkling oflthe fabric andl also to press therubber inte all thev cavities of the mold, and thereby produce aperfectly molded shoe.

In the construction shown in Figs. 5, 6 and iae 7 the mandrel or coresegment d has a channel or chamber h formed within it an opening at anend of the segment; and the vessel C is of such shape that 'it may befreely entered endwise into such chamber. ln Fig. 5 it' is shown in theact of entering.

'In Fig. 6 it is shown in dotted lines in place .in the assembledmandrel.

in Fig. 7 it is shown in cross-section in its place therein. To enablethe liberated fluid to pass from the chamber hto the exterior of themandrel, the latter is formed with peripheral holes m m at intervals. lnFig. 5 the vessel C is shown'as formed witha charging valve n, at oneend, and a fusible plug p at the other end. This plug may be of a wax orof a fusible alloy, so that in either case it fuses at the 'desiredtemperature. l/Vith this construction the operation .is the same asalready described, except that the 'vessel C has to be introduced beforethe mandrel is assembled.

The construction shown in Figs. 8 to 11 is somewhat, different. Withthis construction one mandrel is used for building vup the shoe, andanother mandrel or skeleton core is used for vulcanizing. rlhe latteronly is shown, the former being of any suitable or known construction.For example, the construction shown in Fig. l or Fig. 6 would answer forbuilding up the shoe. When the shoe has been built up on latter isremoved in the usual way and the skeleton core or mandrel, lshown bestin Fig. 8, is Aintroduced in its place. This skeleton mandrel isletteredfB'. Its construction may be precisely the same as thatdescribed with reference to Fig. l, except that the greater part of thecore portion within the hollow of the tire shoe is omittedl only thatportion being retained which is adjacent to the neel; or {lat-cheekedinner portion of the mandrel, being the flaring portion g adjacent tothe clencher ribs on the margins of the shoe. rEhe skeleton mandrelshown is made u lrgy segment e', inner ring f which these being unitedby an engages the segments in any usual or suitable manner. rlheinterengaging construction shown in Fig,v 8 comprisesinterfittingdove-tails on the ring and segments respectively, thesebeing of the construction set forth and claimed in my said priorapplication being, however, preferably of smaller diameter, and ifnecessary, greater length. It is shown as a cylindrical vessel curved toconform to the curve of the tire shoeand so as to enter freely withinthe hollow yofthe shoe.

In operating with this construction the tire shoe is built up in theusual manner upon a core or mandrel, its inner lining b being prolongedinwardlyf as before de-v scribed.' The mandrel is then remhyed fromclamped together the mandrel,` the as usual of main segments d d', andthe No. 848,7 67 The vessel'C is or may be similar to that shown in Fig.5, w

the shoe. the shoe and the skeleton mandrel Bis applied therein, theshoe being opened out for these purposes, as indicated in Fig. 1l. Theshoe is then placed in the mold, as shown in Fig. 10. When the moldsections are the lining b makes tight The vessel4 C is then insertedv injoints between the flat cheeks of the Inold sections and the tion of themandrel The vulcanizing is then performed in the usual way. In the earlypart melts out from the vesseland releases the flat faces of the neckporof the vulcaizing the wax plug y charge of compressediuid which thusisliby erated directly within the hollow of the shoe and serves todistendthe shoe within its mold to force' its rubber cushion into'eX-act -conformance with the inner face ofthe mold, and to 'stretch thefabric layers andmaintain them unwrinkled during vulcanlizing, as beforedescribed.

If the vessel C is charged with water in suitable amount, thevulcanizing heat converts this into steam, which aifords the fluidtension for distending the shoe. This or other4 vaporizable liquids maybe used. Preferably, however, with compressed air proportionately to thecapacity of the vessel and the cubical con-` tents of the hollow or freespace within the shoe, to maintain Within the latter duringvulcanization the required pressure.

Vhile it is' preferable to use a mold, yet it the vessel is charged isto be understood that my invention is applicable where the shoe dfuringvulcanization is inclosed in any other envelop for resisting theinternal pressure. A

AThe invention is not confined, to the use of thermostatic means forliberating the pressure from the` vessel, as any other means may beprovided which is adapted to' act at any time after the shoe has beenproperly confined in its mold or other envelop,

1 Vulcanizing apparatus comprising so that pressure cannot escape fromwithin it, and

means adapted to inclose a tire shoe and' c911` line pressure therein,and a vessel forming a portable unit and adapted to provide a. source offluid pressure, such vessel being adapted to be contained within thewallsof the shoe and having means whereby t pressure confinedwithin-i1'l may within the shoe. y

2. The combination with vulcanizing \me a ns adapted to inclosea tireshoevand confine pressure therein, of a vessel adaptedto provide asource of fluid pressure, such ves.

sel being of such size and shape as to be con- 130 be liberated tainedWithin the walls of the shoe, and having means whereby the fluidpressure ooniined Within it may be liberated Within the shoe during Jhevuleanizing ope-ration.

3. The coinieimation with Vulcanizing means .adapted to inclose a. tireshoe and oontine pressure therein, of a vessel adapted to provide asource of fluid pressure, such vesf sel being of such size and shape asto be contained within the walls of the shoe. and har ing` thermostatiemeans adapted to open and liberate the confined pressure within the shoeupon the heating thereof in the course of the vuloanizing operation.

The combination with a vulcanizing mold adapted to inolose a tire shoeand coniine pressure therein, of a vessel. adapted `to provide a sourceof iiuld pressure, such vessel being of such size and shape as to beoon-V tained within the walls of the shoe, and having therinostatiomeans adapted to open land liberate the confined pressure upon theheating of the mold in the course of the vulcanizing operation. i

5. The combination with vuleanizing means adapted to inolose a tire shoeand corr fine pressure therein, of a vessel adapted to provide a sourceof fluid pressure for use in mileanizing a tire shoe, such vessel shapedand adapted `to be contained within the Walls of the shoe, and havingtlermostatio means adapted to open and liberate the confined pressurewithin the shoe upon the heating thereorl in the Course of thevuleanizing op.

eration. in Witness signed my name in the presence of two sul soribingWitnesses. i

'HENRY Z. COBB.

Vitnesse's: l

'HORACE J. MARTIN,

HAROLD W. MARTIN.

whereof, have hereunto-

